Half of the quilt top was done and I was optimistic that it would be done by the early afternoon and my only worry would be the great quilting dilemma. And with the iron still in my hand and the top spread out in the bright sunlight from the ONE window in our apartment that lets in lots of good natural light, it all came to a screeching halt.
Some bad words were uttered as I sprinted the entire top outside to see it in the natural light.
Can't see the problem? Let me zoom in for you and drop down the lighting a bit...
Still a little muddy? Allow me to turn into Dateline for a second and pull out my fancy UV light through photoshopping...
Spots and splotches. Bright white (in natural light) on my Kona bone background fabric. A few smaller spots within my feather blocks, but the largest and most obvious culprits were on the larger strips at the beginning and ends of my rows. At first I wondered if it was some kind of starch residue or something from my Best Press (didn't seem likely) or possibly something going wrong from my iron. I still had some big pieces that hadn't been ironed or cut yet - but they had white splotches too.
Unless it was some majorly bad problem with the dye lot right off the bolt (again not likely), something bad had happened when I prewashed. I never use bleach in my machine, but that's exactly what my fabric looked like - someone had splashed bleach all over it. When I posted the problem onto a modern quilting group online, someone suggested that some detergents with nonbleach whitening agents can lift the color out of tan/beige color dyes if it sits on the fabric undiluted while the machine fills with water. It seems like that must have been what happened but it's never something that has happened with clothing or fabric before.
Blerg. It's really something that you do have to look for to see...but of course once you know it's there, that's all you can see. I can't believe that I missed it while I was cutting, but I've been doing a lot of cutting at night when the kids are in bed under my kitchen's fantastic fluorescent lights where the splotches are virtually invisible. Granted, this is a quilt for ME so it's not like I'm accountable to anyone else for any mistakes or imperfections, but what a stinking disappointment!!
So here's the NEW dilemma...obviously I'm going back to the store to buy some new unspotted Bone. Do I simply worry about finishing the top half and moving on (and hoping that no one else notices the bottom splotches once it's all done) or do I go back and rip out the pieces that have spots so that I'm not going forward with something that bothers me? I'm leaning towards ripping them out, but am all ears as to what YOU would do. Help!
Linking up:
Oh no!!! What a major bummer. Personally, those spots would be all I would see when I looked at the quilt, so I'd rip and replace.
ReplyDeleteHow noticeable is it once it's been quilted? I usually go back and fix things because I know that they will haunt me if I leave them, but sometimes it's so frustrating to have to go back and seam rip a bunch.
ReplyDeleteHow noticeable is it once it's been quilted? I usually go back and fix things because I know that they will haunt me if I leave them, but sometimes it's so frustrating to have to go back and seam rip a bunch.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...I am so sorry to hear about that. Since you mentioned this quilt is for you and I think the decision weighs on you. Is this for personal use only or are you planning to enter into shows or any exhibition display.
ReplyDeleteFor later, I might go back to the store to get more fabric and fix the second half.
For personal use, if I were you I wouldn't worry about it too much.
You have my complete sympathy here, and I feel your pain. I can't tell you what to do in terms of ripping out or forging ahead, but I would recommend putting the whole thing out of sight for a day or two, and then looking at it again. In my experience, when I find a flaw in my work it is all I can see at the time, and I get very obsessed with noticing it and being irritated. A couple of days later, it often seems pretty minor, or I have a better handle on how to fix it. If it is still screaming in your face after some time apart (without the UV light!), that might help you decide to redo that section. If not, just embrace it with a your choice quilting.
ReplyDeleteI'd call it character and leave it at that, but then I'm not a perfectionist when it comes to my quilts. If it bothers you now, it will bother you when it's done, so go ahead and get the seam ripper out. Then use the fabric you ripped out in small pieces for other projects where it won't be as noticeable.
ReplyDeleteOh, that is awful. So sorry. honestly, I'd probably rip and replace the spotted fabric. It would bug me to know it was there, even if no one else could see it, and I wouldn't be able to enjoy my quilt...
ReplyDeleteOh no! How upsetting! If you think those splotches are going to be looking at you and ruin your enjoyment of your hard work, I'd say they've gotta go. Thanks for sharing your troubles so we can all learn! :)
ReplyDeleteOh no! Any way of making this into a design feature? Maybe bleaching some more spots where there aren't any to make it look deliberate? Or will that just look crappy?
ReplyDeleteIf you know it's going to bother you, rip it out for sure. For me, I would probably do some heavy quilting and hope it was camoflaged :)
ReplyDeleteI absolutely think you should leave the spots in. You hardly noticed them afterall. Don't waste fabric, time or money.
ReplyDeleteI would probably replace the spotty pieces, because I would always see them and it would bug me. You might take it into your bedroom and see if you notice it in there. If it doesn't show there then leave it.
ReplyDeleteI would be so mad!!
ReplyDeleteI would be so upset. I feel for you. I would probably put it away for a while and later see if the spotty areas bothered me (I know they do right now). If they did after a few days, I would rip and replace...
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame. If it annoys you, replace the fabric and use the bleached fabric for smaller bits in other quilts. Perfection is over rated, so if it only annoys you a bit, leave it in. Either way, enjoy all the work you've done in creating something.
ReplyDeleteI agree with a few others. Put it away for a little while - then decide. Also, you could wait, and do the ripping at retreat with friends to make it less painful. :D
ReplyDeleteI'm lazy so I would just leave it. It gives the quilt character but that's just me. I have a few quilts with "imperfections" and they bothered me at first but now I don't even notice or remember I have them. It's up to you :)
ReplyDeleteUgh!!! I'd probably rip it out but wait a few days... and pour yourself a big glass of wine:-)
ReplyDeleteTragedy! Agree with Alice on all counts. I think this feather quilt is likely to be heirloom-quality and it will really bother you to have any imperfections in the finished product. But, wine. The worst!
ReplyDeleteI have another idea entirely, but it might be too drastic for you. Have you considered finishing the quilt top and then tea dying the whole thing? I think it would give it an antique look, which may not be what your are after. I would just hate to see so much work (and fabric) go to waste. So sorry for your frustration.
ReplyDelete